Now, I know there are some naysayers out there waiting to pounce on me, so let me address some issues before I down a beer in salute to my brothers and sisters who are getting the fuck out of Iraq.

We’re not done in Iraq. No, we aren’t, and won’t be for a long time. We will still have 50,000 “non-combatant” troops there – it’s a fact that bullets and bombs scrupulously avoid non-combatants, so they should be in no danger – and we’ll be involved in helping Iraq get re-established for a long time. By no chance have we seen the end of American deaths there. I hold no illusions that we won’t have some sort of presence there until I fall face-down into my shallow grave. However…we’re getting troops out of there. That’s big. That’s Obama finally keeping a significant promise.

Many of those troops pulling out of Iraq will go to Afghanistan. Yes, this I also know and accept. Afghanistan is going to make Iraq look like the Faukland Islands. Not much relief in sight there. Some of these soldiers may get a break; most of them will have Afghanistan in their future. However…at least we’re freeing up some troops to rotate.

Iraq will fall into chaos now that we are leaving. This will be the biggest argument. We’ve given the enemy forces in Iraq a “welcome back” mat to throw wherever they want in Baghdad. While this may indeed be true…it will happen whether we leave now or we leave 10 years from now. Why not leave now, and save a few American lives? This leads into my final anticipated complaint…

We caused the chaos in Iraq, it’s our responsibility to fix it. Yes, indeed. But at what cost? If we have a massive troop force there indefinitely, we will continue to lose troops there. The longer we stay in Iraq, the more they will be dependent on us. At some point, we have to start moving out and let them stand on their own. That doesn’t mean we will completely abandon them; it does mean we will take a less active role in their country, but still provide help as needed and as we are able. I don’t think we’re pulling chocks and getting the fuck out; we’re saying it’s time for you to stand on your own, and we’ll be here to help but you need to do most of it yourself. Nothing wrong with that.

I’m just glad to see us starting to get out of Iraq. I know this is no promise of a smooth future there, but I like that we’re taking a very important step in the right direction.